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For its seventh launch of the year, and seventh Vega mission since the light launcher began operations at the Guiana Space Center - French Guiana, in 2012, Arianespace will orbit the PerúSat-1 satellite as part of a turnkey contract with Airbus Defence and Space for the Peruvian space agency CONIDA, and the SkySats-4 to 7 satellites for the American operator Terra Bella, a Google company.

With this multi-payload Vega mission, Arianespace clearly confirms that its light launcher offers the adaptability needed to meet emerging requirements in the broad-based Earth observation market.

The launch will be from the Vega Launch Complex (SLV) in Kourou, French Guiana.

The Launch Readiness Review (LRR) will take place on Wednesday, September 14, 2016 in Kourou, to authorize the start of operations for the final countdown.

PerúSAT-1

is Peru’s first Earth observation satellite. Ordered within the scope of an agreement between the Peruvian and French governments, this launch is being carried out under a turnkey contract with Airbus Defence and Space for the Peruvian space agency CONIDA.

Built by Airbus Defence and Space in Toulouse, France, using an AstroBus-S platform and its NAOMI instrument, the satellite will be injected into Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 675 km. PerúSAT-1 will operate at an altitude of 695 km to take pictures of the entire globe.

SkySat-4, 5, 6 and-7 are the first four of these micro-satellites to be launched by Arianespace for Terra Bella, a new customer and a commercial operator of Earth observation satellites.

Terra Bella is a Google company using data from space to solve problems on Earth. SkySat-4,5, 6, and 7 will augment Terra Bella’s existing 3 on-orbit satellites—growing the constellation and enabling Terra Bella to help enterprise customers solve the challenges affecting their business and generate insights into important global economic, environmental, and humanitarian challenges.

Designed by Terra Bella and built by SSL (Space Systems/Loral) in Palo Alto, California, USA, using the Skysats 4-7 platform, the four satellites, SkySats-4 to 7, will be injected into a Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 500 km.

To watch a live, high-speed online transmission of the launch (including commentary from the launch site in French and English), go to arianespace.com on September 15, 2016, starting 15 minutes before liftoff.

You can also follow the launch live on your iPhone or iPad (the Arianespace HD app is free).

About Arianespace

To use space for a better life on earth, Arianespace guarantees access to space transportation services and solutions for any type of satellite, commercial as well as institutional, into any orbit.

Since 1980, Arianespace has performed missions placing more than 500 satellites into orbit with its three launchers: Ariane, Soyuz and Vega. Arianespace is headquartered in Evry, France near Paris, and has a facility at the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana, plus local offices in Washington, D.C., Tokyo and Singapore.